The March 28 update reviews new COVID-19 case data for Marin, provides a handy visual to understand physical distancing, reviews tips for self care and how to access emotional support resources, and shares a recent interview with Dr. Lisa Santora.
COVID-19 activity in Marin:
Marin County Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 Dashboard
| Marin Confirmed Cases: | 74 (8.8% increase) |
| Marin Deaths: | 1 |
| Marin Persons Tested (at point of testing site): | 681 |
| Marin Hospitalizations: | 9 |
| California Confirmed Cases: | 5,509 |
| California Deaths: | 114 |
Marin County Public Health continues to advance policies to limit community spread and support our excellent healthcare partners’ capacity to respond. For more visit our Marin HHS Data website.
Emotional Support Resources:
Fears about the coronavirus pandemic and being socially isolated can significantly affect mental health. Whether you have a mental illness or are just feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, it’s important to do what you can to support yourself and get help with you need it.
Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, but taking care of yourself, your friends, and your family can help you cope. Here are some general tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Alliance on Mental Illness:
- Take care of your body. Critical self-care activities are sleep, physical exercise and a healthy diet. Avoid alcohol and drugs.
- Be mindful of your news consumption. Take breaks from watching, reading or listening to news stories, including social media. And, limit your sources to one or two reliable sources, like the CDC or Marin Public Health.
- Find things to do. Do activities that you enjoy or that are distracting. Music, movies, gardening, art, journaling and cleaning are all great outlets.
- Connect with or help others. Talk with people you trust about your well-being. You can chat via phone or video. Finding a way to help others might make you feel better.
Staying emotionally connected as a community even if we temporarily become more physically isolated is critical to everyone’s mental health. Online and phone support is available through the National Distress Helpline, a free service to connect with a trained crisis counselor (available in English and Spanish).
- Phone: 1-800-985-5990
- Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 (English)
- Text “Hablanos” al 66746 (español)
- TTY (for hard of hearing): 1-800-846-8517
Additional phone support options and self-care resources are available on the Marin Health & Human Services Behavioral Health and Recovery Services webpage.
Social distancing = physical distancing
Everyone is required to stay home except to perform essential functions. If you must go outside, please stay more than 6 feet apart from others not in your household unit (or “cocoon”). This practice is called social or physical distancing. Not sure how to calculate 6 feet? It’s the standard length of a dog leash! (Distancing from your furry friend not required. The information is presented for illustrative purposes only.)
Video updates from your Public Health team
Dr. Lisa Santora was unable to record a video update today, but wanted to remind everyone that they can watch past updates on the Marin COVID-19 Update YouTube Playlist.
Also – in case you missed it -- Dr. Lisa was a guest on KWMR’s Epicenter radio show earlier this week. Listen to her interview on KWMR.org and tune in at 11AM on Monday, March 30 for another radio update.
Where to get the latest information:
Visit the official Marin County Coronavirus webpage (MarinHHS.org/coronavirus) to review answers to frequently asked questions, access guidance for special groups and subscribe for email updates. To view past status updates concerning COVID-19 activity in Marin County, click on the resources tab on the Coronavirus webpage.
Have questions? Individuals can contact Marin Health and Human Services with non-medical questions about the coronavirus by calling (415) 473-7191 (Monday – Friday, 9:30am to 12-noon and 1pm to 5pm).
MARCH 27 CORRECTION: access to parks, beaches and open space
Our March 27 status update referenced an earlier Public Health Order regarding access to parks, beaches, campgrounds, and open spaces. The update should have read “closed to motorized access” (versus closed to non-motorized access). We apologize for this typo.
Residents may access local parks by foot, bicycle or other non-motorized access. But this does not mean driving to a nearby neighborhood to park and then walk into your favorite open space. You should seek outdoor opportunities close to home: if it requires you to get into your car, it’s too far.
This order was issued due to high volumes of non-essential travel to popular destinations. Our ability to flatten the curve is dependent on residents self-isolating in their place of residence; minimizing excursions except for necessary physical activity. Residents who leave their house for essential activities must follow social distancing requirements (greater than 6 feet). We are depending on Marin County residents following these orders to prevent a surge in Emergency Room visits and hospitalizations and protect our health care resources.